The future is always brighter
by Smoshersnorlax
Summary: This story mainly focuses on Ian. I guess you could say him and Anthony have a cute moment near the end, but that's about it. Enjoy :)


**I promised myself I'd do a Kid Icarus fanfic next but I couldn't resist, I just needed to write this. There isn't really much Ianthony in this until the end and it's friendship based rather than yaoi but I hope you like it anyway.**

**Disclaimer: Anthony is going out with Kalel and Ian is going out with Melanie and I have no problem with that. They are pretty cute couples. Anyway...**

* * *

Ian Hecox and Melanie Moat had been going out since November 11 2007, but recently thing hadn't been the same. Whenever Ian wanted them to go on a date together, Melanie would come up with some excuse for not going.

"Hey Mel, I was thinking we could go and see Wreck It Ralph this week,"

"I'm not really into videogames that much anymore so I think I'll pass,"

Whenever he tried to get close to her, she just pushed him away moodily.

"Is that all you can think about Ian?! Can't you go one second without pawing me?!"

All the conflict was seriously depressing for Ian, especially as it just came out of nowhere. _I just wish I knew what I've done to suddenly get this reaction. She's being ridiculous! You'd think that after dating me for half a decade she would have accepted the fact that I'd like to treat her like my girlfriend once in a while. We don't even share a bed anymore._

Knowing his best friend was the only one he could trust with this sort of information, Ian went over to Anthony and Kalel's house, when he knew Kalel wouldn't be home.

"Hey Ian," Anthony said with a smile on his face as he opened the door to reveal his best friend of 14 years.

"Hey Anthony," he replied dully as he entered Anthony's house.

"What's the sad voice for Ian?" Anthony enquired as they sat down on the living room sofa, knowing that Ian was depressed just from the tone of his voice.

"It's about me and Melanie," he started.

"Ah," Anthony said with a knowing look. "Do tell."

"I don't think I'm overreacting but for the past few weeks Melanie has been acting really strange. Whenever I want to hang out with her, she's suddenly busy and if I try to touch her, she acts like I've got the plague. We might as well not be living together because I barely see her and when I do, she just shouts at me," Ian said, his voice trembling at the thought of losing Melanie.

Anthony just stared at Ian for a few moments in surprise before speaking.

"I really think you need to talk it out with her. And when I say talk, I mean actually talk, don't let her turn it into another pointless argument. You need to let her know you have no freakin clue what you did wrong and unless she tells you, you never will. You're an awesome guy and if she can't see that then she doesn't deserve you," Anthony told Ian, before giving him a brief comforting hug.

"Thanks Anthony," Ian said with a heavy sigh. This day was only going to get worse. "I just don't want to lose her, we've been together for five years now and until recently, I could picture her being the one I end up marrying."

"I really hope things work out between you. You and Melanie belong together."

_Meanwhile at Ian and Melanie's house_

"Corey, I've got everything. I'll be at your apartment in half an hour, there's just one thing I need to do," Melanie said into the phone before hanging up. "Wow, it's gonna be weird leaving this place but I need to do something for myself for once. Dating a major Youtube star is more hassle than it's worth."

Melanie had removed all evidence of her ever having lived there. All her clothes, the video games she said she no longer played, but most of all, the framed picture of her and Ian which was taken on the beach on their third anniversary. She sighed as she took one last look at the photo of them kissing, with the sunset in the background and the ocean rippling behind them with a boat trailing through the water. _Things were so perfect back then, but this is now, and I need to leave now._ As she walked out of the house laden with bags, she took a clichéd one last backwards glance before walking out into her new life.

_An hour later, Ian arrives back home._

Ian finally arrived at his house, his stomach churning with nerves as he prepared to confront Melanie about their rocky relationship. As he turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door, he let out a strangled cry as took in the emptiness of his surroundings. Nothing had prepared him for this. Nothing. It was as if Melanie had never even lived there, she even took one of things he had treasured the most, other than her. The framed photograph. Some people say a picture says a thousand words, if only those thousand words were still true. Ian ran up the stairs as fast as he could, hoping that his eyes were playing tricks on him and everything upstairs was exactly the way it should be, the final attempt of convincing himself that Melanie hadn't gone anywhere. But upstairs was just as barren as downstairs, it really was true. Melanie had left him and made sure he didn't have any keepsakes to keep hold of. Unable to hold back his emotions for very long, Ian collapsed onto the double bed they had once shared and started sobbing uncontrollably. He had never felt this devastated in his entire life, not even when his dad had abandoned him and his mom when he was 14. He felt as though he would never be able to stop crying. _Where did it all go wrong?! I just don't understand. _ The tears continued to cascade down his cheeks like a never ending waterfall but even though he felt ashamed for crying so much, he couldn't stop. It just hurt too much. He had given her everything he could, sacrificed so much just so that they could be together. He had abandoned Anthony when he moved out of their house to live with Melanie. His best friend had been so understanding. "I'm happy for you. About time you two moved in together." He had said but Ian could still tell he was disappointed he was moving out. After five whole years, Melanie had just walked away from their relationship within one day. No discussion. No explanation.

As Ian turned over on the bed, he noticed a piece of paper on the bedside table with Melanie's writing on it. Drying his eyes so he was able to see properly, Ian sat up and started to read:

_Ian, I know this is really sudden and I'm sorry it had to be done this way, but I'm leaving and I'm not coming back. The reason I've been so cold to you lately is that for the past six months I've been seeing someone else. And now I've decided to move in with him. Me and Corey are really happy together and I hope that one day you'll understand. Please don't try to contact me or Corey, I don't think talking will help at this stage and it's pointless trying anyway. I hope you won't hate us forever._

_From Melanie._

Ian just stared at the paper blankly, practically burning holes in it with his eyes.

"HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO ME?!" he yelled, all of his sadness transforming into anger in one quick moment. "My ex-girlfriend and ex-roomate have run off together. Unbelievable." Knowing nothing would be able to improve the day after what had just happened, he decided to get undressed and go to sleep. _Hopefully I'll have a dream about rainbows that don't decide they love someone else and run off as soon as I leave the house._

_The next morning._

Ian awoke to a loud buzzing noise coming from the other end of the room. Groaning at being woken up, he rolled out bed and went to check who was calling him. It was Anthony so he picked up immediately.

"Why are you waking me up this early?!" Ian growled down the phone, his anger clearly not improving much since the previous day.

"Dude, have you checked the time? It's 12:30 in the afternoon." Anthony replied unsurely. The only time he had ever heard Ian growl when he wasn't joking was when someone was threatening to beat up Melanie. Which reminded him of something. "How did it go with Melanie?"

Tears threatened to form again before Ian took a deep breath and told Anthony that he would tell him everything if he came over as soon as he could.

_At Anthony and Kalel's house_

"Kalel I've got to go and see Ian. Something really bad has happened, something he couldn't tell me on the phone," Anthony said urgently before grabbing his keys and rushing outside towards his car.

_7 minutes later_

_I'm dreading to think of what happened with him and Melanie._ Anthony fretted as he walked up towards the front door. Before he could even ring the doorbell, the door opened. Ian had clearly been waiting for Anthony's arrival. Just the look of devastation and heartbreak on Ian's face was enough to make Anthony immediately engulf him in a tight hug. This loving gesture was too much for Ian and he started crying again, his whole body shuddering.

"Just let it all out Ian. I'm here now," Anthony murmured whilst rubbing Ian's back soothingly. They stayed like this for a while, still standing in the hallway before Ian finally calmed down enough to talk properly.

"It was horrible Anthony! After I finished talking to you yesterday at your house, I came home to find that Melanie had moved out. She literally just packed up all her things and disappeared!" Ian exclaimed. "The worst part was that she was cheating on me for six whole months. With Corey!"

At the mention of their friend's name, Anthony's mouth fell open in shock, suddenly understanding why Ian was so upset. If Kalel suddenly packed her stuff and left to be with one of their friends without any notice, he would be pretty distraught too.

"I'm so sorry Ian. How could they do this? Corey is meant to be our friend and Melanie is better than this!" Anthony said. "Do you want me to move back in with you for a little while? You know, just until you're back on your feet."

"You'd do that for me?" Ian asked, slightly happier than he was before Anthony had arrived. That was the amazing thing about Anthony. He always knew what to say when he was feeling down, and if he ever did something bad to Ian, he always made up for it in the sweetest ways possible.

"Of course I would Ian," Anthony replied, hugging his friend once more. "Girlfriends come and go but your true friends always stick beside you. Plus I've missed living together."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Ian said guiltily, whilst slightly lowering his head in shame.

"Don' worry about it now," Anthony assured Ian. "I would have done the same thing and I was happy for you anyway." By this time, Ian was properly smiling. Anthony was so good at cheering him up, just another one of Anthony's amazing qualities.

"You are such an awesome friend," Ian grinned as they hugged once more. "I'm feeling better already."

**Well there you go. By the way, Corey is actually Ian and Anthony's old roommate and he played teleporting fat guy. Sorry if you didn't already know this and I've just ruined your mental image of what Corey looked like. Please review it and let me know what you think.**


End file.
